On the one hand I’ve worked with a county health program where vaccines were the key focus. I’ve also heard from families whose child was damaged by vaccines, including a mom whose daughter died after receiving vaccines, motivating her to start an anti-vaccine organization.

The arguments of each side are usually presented with a black-and-white approach.

Our organization has always maintained that we are not against vaccines, but we do support improved efforts for vaccine safety. Unfortunately, real progress won’t be made until we change the rhetoric. Many parents who are not vaccinating their children today are not necessarily against the concept of vaccines, but they no longer trust the government to provide straight talk on vaccines or to admit when improvements are needed.